A team of scientists and volunteers is working hard with Allied Whale of College of the Atlantic to find the reason behind the death of a 35-fot long humpback whale.

The humpback whale had been freed from ropes in the ocean at least three times, including twice near Mount desert rock in 2006 and again it was found in last September.

Researchers said spinnaker's two most recent entanglements, only eight months apart, are thought to be the likely culprits in her death, but the necropsy could reveal a different cause.

It has been said that spinnaker's body, almost 35 feet long, was towed over the weekend from Great Head in Acadia National Park, where it had washed up against the steep shoreline, to a private beach in the local village of Hulls Cove.

About 30 staffers and volunteers with Allied Whale, the marine mammal research arm of College of the Atlantic, wore boots, hard hats, and overalls or white protective suits Monday as they cut into the carcass with long, curving knives and dragged off pieces with hand-held hooks.

Dan DenDanto, a research associate with Allied Whale and team leader of the necropsy, said, "I have some [College of the Atlantic] students that have worked with me, [and Spinnaker] was the first whale they ever saw. Now, to see it end in death like this is tragic".

DenDanto, who cleans and rebuilds whale skeletons for museums, said whale necropsies are important because they can reveal information that could prove useful in findings out some more useful measures for conservation of whales, which are protected by federal law.